


Stars Align

by xlydiadeetz



Series: The Capri Drabbles [6]
Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Astrology, Auguste is the biggest astrology nerd in Vere, Auguste of Vere, Captive Prince - Freeform, Constellations, Fluff, Gen, Other, Pre-Captive Prince, Stars, Stars Gazing AU, The Capri Drabbles, The Vere Brothers, laurent of vere, space, universe - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-26 07:47:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7565959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xlydiadeetz/pseuds/xlydiadeetz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“The world is cruel, Laurent. And life is hard. But… no matter how dark it can seem sometimes, always remember, we have the stars.”</p>
<p>Before the events of Captive Prince, Auguste (the biggest astrology nerd in Vere) loved to watch the stars with his little brother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stars Align

**Author's Note:**

> Hello hello, it's me again. This time I actually wrote fluff! I'm not happy with this drabble at all, but I still liked the idea of Auguste loving the stars so much that I decided to post it anyway. Hopefully you will enjoy it :) Thanks to Montse, as always, for beta-ing this, and Tessa for helping me write about astrology.<33

“Laurent. Laurent, brother, are you awake?”

He was pulled away from his dream almost abruptly. It took him a moment to realize someone was calling his voice in the real world, and that it wasn’t a product of his imagination. The young boy opened his eyes slowly, adjusting to the darkness that still reigned in Vere. He blinked once, twice, until he could focus on the face above him.

“Auguste?” he whispered. His voice heavy with sleep. “What is it?”

“You must come with me now. I want to show you something amazing.” His brother whispered with excitement. In moments like these, Laurent thought Auguste seemed like the younger brother.

“It’s still dark outside. Can’t it wait till tomorrow?”

“You know I wouldn’t be waking you up at these hours if it could.”

Auguste hurried him out of bed and into his boots and a light coat he didn’t even bother to lace up. They were out of the Prince’s chambers in a matter of seconds.

“Where are we going?” asked Laurent and covered his mouth as he yawned. He wished to return to bed as soon as possible, if it had been any other person, he would have sent them away with a small hand gesture.

His brother didn’t reply, but smiled and held out his hand. “Let’s run.”

Laurent sighed but took his hand anyway, “I wonder if you ever run out of energy.”

Auguste laughed, “You talk like an old man, Laurent. And you’re only 13. I think you’ve been spending too much time listening to our father and uncle.” And after saying this, he cleaned his throat and made a perfect impression of his father complaining over back problems and lack of sleep.

Laurent couldn’t help it; his shoulders were shaking slightly as he started to laugh. “If father heard you…”

He didn’t even bother to finish the sentence, for both Vere brothers knew what their father would do to them if they found them making impressions of his old age grumpiness. They exchanged a smile before Auguste guided them through the empty halls of the Palace and out to their mother’s gardens. It was cold outside and Laurent felt himself shivering lightly. He was still in his bed clothes, after all.

They came to a stop when Laurent spotted a white blanket lay out on the grass. His brother lay down first and crossed his arms under his head before inviting Laurent to do the same.

“Is this what you do instead of sleeping? Watching stars?”

Auguste faked being offended, “You talk about stars like it’s the most mundane thing but astrology is actually very interesting.”

Laurent didn’t reply but instead gazed up at the sky. He didn’t want to admit that his brother was right, and it was something amazing. All the stars were out for them, like holes in a big black canvas. There were so many, and they shined so bright.

“Up there you can see Gemini. That is your zodiac sign constellation.” Auguste said and pointed up. Laurent followed his gaze, trying to understand and find the figure.

“Where exactly?”

Auguste shifted, “There’s Castor, and Pollux. And if you follow those down…”

“I can see it now.” Laurent whispered and felt as his lips curved into a small smile.

Auguste smiled with pride and continued, “Aries is over there. And Orion too, everyone knows Orion.”

“Yes, that I know of. I saw it in one of your books.” Laurent admitted. In fact, he enjoyed reading his brother’s astrology books as much as reading his novels. Something about the celestial bodies attracted both Princes. The emblem of Vere was a star, after all.

“Did you know Gemini is currently aligned, though? That means, little brother, that you’ll find your true love within the next ten years.”

Laurent raised an eyebrow, obviously not believing a word of what Auguste was saying. “Quite the clairvoyant type, aren’t you?”

Auguste chuckled, “I’m not predicting your future. Gemini is rotating around Vega, which is the brightest star in the constellation of Lyra. There’s a legend about it, you see. Two lovers separated by the Celestial River, they’re represented by the stars Vega and Altair. Vega is a celestial princess and Altair a human. They can only be together for one day a year only, on the 7th night of the 7th moon.”

“That means… during summer?” Laurent whispered.

His brother nodded, “That’s right. But they say sometimes that it fails and they can’t be together. If there’s rain on that day, it means Altair couldn’t make it to Vega and she is crying so much it reaches us down in the earth.”

Laurent lay still for a moment, and said carefully, “It is not yet the 7th night,” and then, “Do you think… this year… they might be together?”

The eldest brother smiled. He knew Laurent loved these stories, and Laurent knew Auguste loved to tell them. It was always like this for them both, Auguste shared his knowledge and Laurent listened, never complaining about it being useless or banal. He adored the way his brother told things, he adored that he knew so much about everything. That was the main reason why Laurent was so dedicated to his books, and Auguste’s. If he could learn more about the world, he and Auguste could have endless conversations. He never wanted them to end.

“What if I don’t find it? My…” he flushed. “My true love.”

“Well… I suppose you’ll have to be stuck with me.” Auguste smiled.

“But you do want to get married to a woman and have heirs. You’ll be the King one day, and—“

“That doesn’t mean,” Auguste interrupted him, “that you cannot be part of that, brother. In fact, I have no intention of being separated from you. Who would I watch the stars with if I did?”

That made Laurent smile a little, but instead of giving a heart-warming response, he opted for a better one. “Brother, if I don’t find my true love in ten years, that’ll only mean that you’re terrible at astrology. And clairvoyance.”

“I am not! I’ve been studying the stars for years now. You see that one,” he pointed, “that is Cassiopeia. You don’t know about that one, do you? It has a story too, very interesting, in fact. She was the mother of Andromeda and wife of Cepheus, and—“

Laurent could hear his brother talking, but for much he tried, he couldn’t focus on the story. There was something in the way Auguste talked about it, Cassiopeia and Andromeda and Cepheus, something that made him feel at ease. He started to fall asleep, slowly and calmly. He could still hear Auguste rambling about those horrible, disgusting Kings who gave up her daughter for sacrifice. The younger boy wanted to tell him that most Kings were vain and corrupt and would do anything for power, but he couldn’t find the strength to do so. Plus, he knew what the response would be.

_‘Well, then I shall be the kindest, most humble and honest King of them all.’_

His brother was always like that. So true, so honest, so…

_***_

Auguste smiled and touched his brother’s face for a minute. He was sleeping soundly and he feared of waking him up yet again. He looked up at the stars for another minute, before standing up and grabbing the sleeping Prince. He was light, but he could still remember the small weight of his body when he had been a baby. Auguste was as excited as a father to see his newborn.

The innocence of Laurent was something Auguste wanted to preserve for as long as possible. He knew it was impossible to protect it forever, but he loved to see him growing up like this. Between books, and his love for horses, and without worrying to rule the Kingdom or the war that was coming. He hated to think that his little brother might be ripped of all that, of all the fun of being young and careless. It was a fear that sometimes kept him up at night, gazing up at the stars in his mother’s gardens.

Auguste carried Laurent back to his chambers and placed him in the bed softly. The boy made a small sound as his body hit the cold mattress, but didn’t wake up.

The Crown Prince of Vere smiled down and pulled the sheets over his brother, and watched him sleep for another minute, giving his thoughts some time to settle down before going back to his own room.

_I’m not going to be here always to protect you. That’s why I hope, with all my heart, that you find someone, little brother. Someone who will love you as much—or even more than I do._

“The world is cruel, Laurent. And life is hard. But… no matter how dark it can seem sometimes, always remember, we have the stars.” He whispered.

War was coming, and he was unsure of what would come to Vere and his family. But he hoped that Laurent would always have something to comfort him, as he himself had the stars. Perhaps this he could give. Even if only a pleasant memory of a time they had spent together talking about constellations in a world where they still were young boys together, protected by the walls of their home. Perhaps Laurent will remember it, too.

“Goodnight, brother.” He heard himself whisper, and with a smile he disappeared behind the door. 

_***_

That night, Laurent of Vere dreamed of two stars and a man he was yet to meet, in an unexpected twist of events.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! You can find me on twitter as @princesgambit


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